The world lost an extraordinary man this week. My deepest sympathy and prayers are with Dawn, Shannon, Dana, and his entire family. Tom was a modest guy and probably wouldn’t want me to make a big deal of his life, but he was one of my closest friends and an important partner in business and in life, so I feel the need to share a small tribute here – even if it’s really just because I need this….
I met Tom in 1999 when we hired him at AnnuityNet (a dot-com startup founded by Shane Chalke) as our CIO. Tom and I were peers and quickly became friends. Our professional relationship was based on pushing each other harder, telling each other the things we needed to hear (whether we wanted to hear them or not) and coaching each other to be better executives and managers. We both wanted our company to succeed, and we expected a lot from each other. He expected me to close deals, and I expected him to deliver. In most cases, we did.
I watched Tom drive extraordinary operational and technology results at three different companies over the years. At AnnuityNet, he automated and built the operational support around an exceedingly complex business. As he always does, he simply found a way to deliver and make things work. And he did this by doing what any good leader does: making his own people better by coaching and developing their leadership skills. He was a refreshingly no-nonsense guy and someone who always wanted himself and his team to be better every day than they were the day before.
After AnnuityNet sold in 2006, we kept in touch and hoped we would have the opportunity to work together again. Just a few months ago, I was pleased to be able to hire him as the Chief Delivery Officer at my current company, FolioDynamix. Even though this time he technically worked for me, I was never his “boss.” We were partners, and in his short time at FDx, he made an extraordinary impact.
When I announced his passing to our staff, emails came pouring in from people with stories about how he had touched them and the positive impact he was having on the company. As always, he was just “getting it done,” and it says quite a bit about how extraordinary a man Tom was that he had such a personal and positive impact on so many that worked with him in his short tenure.
I’ve told everyone at work that one of the ways we can honor Tom’s memory is by pushing each other to get better, just as he did for me. The reason he and I became so close was that I could always count on him to tell me like it was. Even when that involved hearing things I didn’t want to hear about myself. That was the power of Tom. I’ll never forget a client meeting with him, years ago, when in the elevator on the way down, I asked him how he thought it had gone and how my presentation was. HIs answer? “You’ve got some work to do, amigo.”
We were peers, and I knew his viewpoint was insight intended to make me push myself harder, to be better - not to tear me down and certainly not to compete. He always had a fresh perspective. We knew we would win by working together, and I always did my best to offer him the same blunt, candid, and constructive feedback.
This was how Tom became the most valuable, most extraordinary professional relationship I’ve ever had. Everyone should be so lucky to find a colleague and friend who will tell you the truth, and push you to new heights.
On a personal level, starting from a business relationship, we became close friends. Tom knew that Stephanie and I were a thing before we knew we were a thing. Our families spent time together. We rode motorcycles together. He was a guest in our home as recently as a few weeks ago. We shared one another’s victories and frustrations, often acting as consigliere on matters personal and professional. When at the age of 5, our son Hank expressed an interest in learning to fish, Tom was my go-to guy. He took us to Walmart shopping for equipment, and then to a lake in Maryland where Hank caught his very first fish - a four inch Redear Sunfish. Hank still speaks fondly of Mr. Christian and that fishing trip to this day.
Tom was an extraordinary man, who demonstrated his extraordinariness every single day by pretending to be ordinary. He loved to bust my chops for being fancy, and he would often brag that he bought much of his wardrobe at Tractor Supply. He reveled in my mock horror at learning that he liked to wear Crocs.
I’m choking up as I write this, and find myself deeply, deeply saddened. I hope my thoughts here bring some comfort, a smile, some peace to some of Tom’s friends and loved ones. I intend to honor his memory by redoubling our efforts at the office to do what Tom wanted to do together with us - build the best d*mn wealth management technology company the world has ever seen.
I’ll miss you, Tom. You were one of a kind, and I’m a better man for having known you.
